Privacy policy

Who we are

Six Star Intel is run by Marcus Knapman, UK. You can contact us at marcus@sixstarintel.com.

What this site collects

We collect as little as we can. Here's everything, and why.

• Server logs. Like almost every website, our server keeps standard logs of requests: IP address, browser, the page asked for and the time. We use them to keep the site secure and fix problems (our legitimate interest in running a safe, working website).
• Email alert sign-ups. If you sign up, we keep the details listed under Email alerts below. The legal basis is your consent.
• Stopping spam and abuse. The sign-up form has a hidden field that only bots fill in. If it's filled in, we don't save anything. We also limit how often the same connection can use the sign-up form and search, so the site can't be flooded. To do this, a scrambled version of your IP address is held for about a minute, then discarded (our legitimate interest in protecting the site).
• Emails you send us. If you email us, we get your email address, name (if your email shows one) and whatever you write. We use it only to read and reply to your message (our legitimate interest in answering you).

Our public pages don't set any cookies. The only cookies this site uses are a login cookie and a security (XSRF) cookie on the private admin area, which only we use.

Cookies and similar technologies

When you first visit, a cookie banner asks for your choice. Accept all, Reject all and Customise are given equal weight, and nothing optional is switched on unless you choose it. You can change your mind at any time with Cookie settings in the footer of every page.

We use Google Consent Mode v2 with every optional category set to "denied" by default. No analytics or advertising script is loaded at all until you've agreed to that category. Your choice is kept for 6 months, then we ask again. If you withdraw consent, we stop loading those scripts.

Affiliate links: if you click an affiliate link (for example to Amazon), the retailer may set its own cookies on its website under its own privacy policy. See our affiliate disclosure.

Email alerts

You can ask for email alerts about specific things, such as the official UK unlock time being confirmed.

• What we keep: your email address, the alerts you picked, when and on which page you signed up, when you confirmed, and a one-way scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address to help stop abuse.
• Why: to send the alerts you asked for. The legal basis is your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
• Double opt-in: nothing is sent to you except one confirmation email until you press the link in it. Sign-ups that aren't confirmed are deleted after 7 days.
• Who sends it: the confirmation email comes from our own mailbox, and the list is kept in our own database. We don't use an email marketing service yet; if we start, we'll update this page first.
• How often: only when there's real news on a topic you picked. Alerts and newsletters are sent by hand, never automatically.
• Unsubscribing: every email has an unsubscribe link, and you can ask us to delete your details completely.

Where your data is kept and who handles it

• Website and sign-up list: on our own server, hosted by IONOS in the UK. The list of email sign-ups is kept in our own database on that server.
• Email: our mailbox (marcus@sixstarintel.com) is provided by IONOS, and its email servers are in Germany. Confirmation emails are sent through it, and emails you send us arrive there. We also keep a copy of our mailbox on our own server so we can manage it.

IONOS handles this data only to provide our hosting and email. Germany is in the EU, and UK data protection law recognises the EU as giving personal data an adequate level of protection. We don't sell your data or share it with anyone else, and we don't use an email marketing service.

How long we keep it

• Unconfirmed sign-ups: deleted automatically after 7 days. A clean-up runs every night.
• Confirmed sign-ups: kept for as long as you stay subscribed.
• After you unsubscribe: we stop emailing you straight away. We keep a short record (your email address, the alerts you picked, and when you signed up, confirmed and unsubscribed) so we can show you agreed and later withdrew your consent. If you'd rather we deleted it, email us and we'll remove it completely.
• Emails you send us: kept only as long as we need them to deal with your message, and deleted sooner if you ask.
• Server logs: kept for a limited time by our hosting software, then deleted.

Analytics and advertising

There's no analytics and no advertising on this site at the moment. No analytics or ad code is loaded on any page.

If we add analytics or advertising, we'll update this page before either is switched on. They'll stay off for you unless you agree to them in the cookie banner.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR) you have the right to:

• Access: ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: ask us to correct anything that's wrong or incomplete.
• Erasure: ask us to delete your data.
• Restriction: ask us to stop using your data for a while, for example while we check it's correct.
• Objection: object to us using your data where we rely on our legitimate interests, such as server logs or replying to an email.
• Portability: ask for the data you gave us (for example your email sign-up) in a common, machine-readable format, or ask us to send it to someone else.
• Withdrawing consent: withdraw your consent to email alerts at any time. This doesn't affect anything we did before you withdrew it.

Unsubscribing: every email we send has an unsubscribe link. One click takes you to a page where you press a button to confirm, and we stop emailing you straight away. You can also just email us and ask.

How to use your rights: email marcus@sixstarintel.com. It's free. We may ask you to confirm the request comes from you, for example by replying from the email address you signed up with. We'll reply within one month. If a request is complex, or you send several, we can take up to two more months, and we'll tell you within the first month if we need to.

Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, please tell us first at marcus@sixstarintel.com and we'll do our best to put it right.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator:

• Online: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints
• Phone: 0303 123 1113

The ICO usually asks for a copy of the complaint you've already made to us, so it helps to contact us first.

Changes

We'll update this page when anything changes and show the date at the top.